I was on vacation in Toronto that weekend, so I took in Rick Wakeman's show there. It was just his band. There was no chorus. Musically it was a very good show. Although they ended with Starship Trooper and his singer sounded horrible. He reminded me a little of the John Belushi parody of Joe Cocker on Saturday Night Live.

According to the website, the show was supposed to start at 7:00, so my friend and I arrived there at about 6:20. Being unfamilar with the area, we weren't sure how much time it was going to take to get there and find parking, etc. When we got there we found out that the show didn't actually start until 8:00 and that the doors opened at 7:00. While we were waiting in the area for the doors to open, Rick Wakeman showed up and walked in through the doors that we were waiting for, so we got to say hi to him. That was pretty cool. After the concert he had an autograph session, so I was able to get his autograph and shake his hand and get my picture taken with him. That was quite a thrill for me. All and all it was a great show and a great experience. I have been a Yes fan for 20+ years now and I have seen Yes in concert about 10 times, but this is the first chance I have had to see one of the guys perform their solo material. I don't think that they make it to Michigan very often, and when they do, unfortunately it is not very well publicized.

It was a very nice show to attend this week end in Lanaudière. Rick was very nice, relaxed and in great shape. His guitarist was amazing, and also the bassist. It was a nice evening in a very nice environment. Rick liked very much this place. Rick have a real sens of humour an he showed it to us. Glad that we saw that show.

Sometimes it was intense, like when they played Catherine Parr or StarShip Trooper, sometimes it was more rock with his guitarist and his bassist ( à la funk), and sometimes it was more new age. Rick amazed us playing his 14 keyboards.

Hey! I was there! In Lanaudière. What a great show! Awesome! Wakeman is so amazing! Once again, unforgettable! Like last summer, in Québec city (where I come from and live, by the way). Ok, it was different, less visual. But I went to Joliette to hear and see! It was just amazing to see the elegance and dignity of Wakeman, with Fernández and Holt, associated with ardent energy of younger members of the group Pomeroy and Colquhoun, resulting in an intense and exciting experience for us!

Well, since I`ll be flying my airplane this weekend and can`t really make it I expect that Prog.Sylvie will be providing us all with a complete report of all the "festiveness". Maybe I`ll fly over and perform a few victory rolls just to add to all the fun in though.

This actually looks like it`s going to be a great show with the English Rock Ensemble playing all kinds of stuff including Yes music according to Wakeman`s website. I also read an article in Record Collector magazine where he mentions the fact that he doesn`t do tours anymore. He`s only doing the three back to back shows Rimouski, Launaudiere and Toronto as a mini one off thing. Probably the last time to see him in Canada.]]>
Fri, 03 Aug 2007 18:08:43 +0000http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=38596&PID=2593443#2593443http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=38596&PID=2572373#2572373
Author: VibrationbabySubject: 38596Posted: July 14 2007 at 10:40

Unfortunately, as you can see from the picture I have to save my pennies for jet fuel.]]>
Sat, 14 Jul 2007 10:40:26 +0000http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=38596&PID=2572373#2572373http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=38596&PID=2571987#2571987
Author: Prog.SylvieSubject: 38596Posted: July 13 2007 at 20:18

Joliette is a nice place to have a nice meal in a good restaurant. We don't have to buy any merchandise, or to do a pony ride.

Like I told you before, if you are too poor, stay at home, but it's not the case for me.